Tide-motor.



W. BRAUNSDORF. TIDE MOTOR. APPLIUATION FILED sEPT.11, 1912.

1,048,389. Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

. Agg' l/ a I lf IIII ATTURNEYS W. BRA UNSDORP. TIDL' MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 171, 1912. 1,048,389.

Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

WTNESSES y UNUSED STATES PATENT UFFICE.

VILLIAM BRAUNSDORF, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

EIDE-MOTOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM BRAUNS- DonF, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, inthe county and State of New York, have invented a new and lmprovedTided/lotor, of which the ollozving is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to hydraulic engineering and has particularreference to tide powers, the primary object of the invention being toconstruct a tide motor which will utilize thebuoyant force of the risingtide to lift a float and4 which float during the How of the tide willVbe operativethrough its weight to drive any suitable machinery in thesame direction in which such machinery ing the rise or ebb of the tide.

A further object of the invention is to improve this class'of motors soas to utilize i the .force of the tide in a better and more reliablemanner .than has heretofore been accomplished.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will hereinafter bemore fully described land claimed and illustrated in the` drawingsaccompanying this specification in which like characters of referenceindicate corresponding parts in all the views, andv in which- Figure 1is a side elevation of a preferred embodiment of .the invention, thesaine being illustrated, however, somewhat diagrammatically; Fig. 2 is aplan view, partly in section, of the means for transmitting the powerfrom a rotary element; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the mastergears and pinions between the saine; Fignfl is a vertical detail atright angles to Fig. l

,and on the line "4 of said figure; liig.V 5 is atransverse section onthe line 5-5 of Fig.' 2;"Fg. 6 is a detail of the upper end of the yoke;Fig. 7 is a transverse section on the line 77 of Fig. 6; and `Fig. 8 isa trans i Vverse 'section on the line 8-8 of Fig. l.

Referring more particularly Vto the drawings, I, show at l0 .a float ot'any suitable size, form or construction, the saine being guidedverticallyy byuany suitable guides lll supported by a stationaryframework 12. Preferably the float will be provided with any desirednumber or arraiigeii'ient of antifrictioh rollers v13, which coperatcwith said guides 11.' Itwill be understood that the Specification ofLetters Iatent.

Application nled September 11, 1912.

lwill be operated dur-v yPatented. Dec. 24,1912. Serial No. 719,732.

float will be of av substantially rigid construction, aiid having abuoyancy in the water sufficient to cause it to be lifted by the waterwith considerable force and which force will be operative upon themovable parts of the motor through the gravitation of the float duringthe ow of the tide with practically the saine degree of force as in theother direction. I

Journaled in any suitable manner upon the stationary framework 12 is anactuator la adapted to be operated by said float in either its ascent ordescent, said actuator be* ing movable and adapted to develop andtransmit power from the force of the tide to any suitable mechanism ormachinery. As herein illustrated said actuator comprises a pair ofmaster gears 15A and 16 pivotecl (zo-axially at 17 upon a cross member18 of the frame. Each of the master gears is provided with an arm 19projecting therefrom on the opposite side of thel pivot i7 and having aball and socket connection 2O with a shoe 21 adapted to roll along achannel Q2 of the yoke .23 carried rigidly by the float. As shown inFig. l, the arms 19 of the respective master gears lic in substantiallythe same plane at their lower ends as the vertical plane of the yoke,and diverge from each other at an angle more or less acute, dependingupon the elevation of thc float. At maximum low tide the angle betweenthe arms will be the most acute, and at maximum high tide it will bethe` most obtuse. Each of the slllhes 2l is provided preferably with aplurality of anti-friction rollers 2l which, when the float isascending, will bear against the bot tom of the channel 22 in which saidshoe' operates, and when the float is descending said rollers' will bearagainst the upper flanges 22 of said channel. The, channels constitutingthe yoke may be of any suitable general form, but preferably they are soshaped as to establish a substantially r'egular angle between the axisof the arms 1'9 and the eli'ective portion of the channels with which'said arms cooperate. In other words,

said channels are preferably curved whereby the maximum force of thefloat will be` exerted tending to turn the master gears on their axis.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3 the master gears are'inountcd for partialrotation or oscillation on the same axis in parallel planes,

the shaft 25 being hereinafter regarded as,

the power shaft. Said shafts are connected by means of gear wheels 27whereby they both operate simultaneouslyin opposite directions. To theupper end of the power shaft is secured a large gear wheel 28 from whichthe power may be transmitted-in any suitable manner.

A pair of clutches 2t) and 30 of any snitable nature are mounted uponthe shafts and '26, respectively, whereby said shafts may be drivendirectly in alternation from the pinionsI 23 and 24. The clutches arearranged oppositely to each other, one of said pinions being connectedto each of the clutches and each clutch including a sleeve slidablelongitudinally of its shaft `and splined thereto, whereby the clutchbeing driven will d rive said shaft. l/Vith the parts moving in thedirection indicated by the arrows on Fig. 1, the pinion 23 will bedriven from both master gears and will drive the sha ft 25 in thedirection indicated in Fig. 2 by direct operation of the clutch 29. Thepinion 24 will be driven, of course, in the same direction as the pinionbut the shaft 26 being driven in the opposite direction from the shaft25 will cause the clutch 3() to slip, and hence the pinion 24 will beidle during the upward nlovelnent of the tleat. The clutches tend to beheld in operation by any suitable means such as weights 31 and bothclutches may be lifted out of operation to throw the motor out. of gearby pulling down upon a rope 32 connected to the outer end of a lever andhaving its other end cooperating with a double yoke. 34 connected to theupper portions of the clutches. During the descent of the float thegears 15 and 16 will be positively operated in the direction oppositefrom that indicated by the arrows on Fig. l when the rotation of thepinion 2 4 will positively drive the shaft 2G which in turn will drivethe power shaft, the direction of rotation of the power shaft remaining,however, the same as before. In this instance,

the clutch 29 will be idle while the pinion 23 is running in thc sainedirection as the pinion 24.

The operation of tfie master gears being necessarily relatively :flowcorresponding to the rise and fall. of the tides, it is necessary forthe speed of the power shaft to be increased, and this luay Le done byany suitable or well known gea ling. As an illustration, however, ofsucr gearing, I show at a shaft which, hke all of the other movableparts, will be suitably supported by bea-rings and which carries at oneend a pinion 36 meshing with the power shaft gear 28. At the other endsaid shaft carries a large gear 37 in turn meshing with the pinion 38mounted on a shaft 39 and from which power may be taken in any suitableway to operate a. machine whose main shaft may be represented at 40. Ifdesired, or found necessary, a speed governor 41 may be geared to thehigh speed shaftand may have any suitable form of brake 42 adapted tocoperate with the gear 37 or any other suitable running part of themotor, whereby the' rate of rotation of the wheel 37 and the high speedshaft may be controlled. l In order to take advantage of theirregularities incident to the rise and fall of tide water, both as topower and extent, I provide a flexible connection of any suitable naturebetween the shaft and the gear 37. The flexible connection herein showncomprises a ratchet wheel 43 rigidly secured to `the shaft and having ahollow hub 44 projecting toward the wheel 37. The hub is provided en itsinner surface with a plurality of longitudinal grooves 44. A strong coilspring 45 of any suitable length surrounds the shaft between the ratchetwheel and the gear 37 and has one end rigidly secured to the wheel andits opposite end fitted within the hollow hub 44 and with the extremeend extending y into one of the grooves 44'; The outside circumferenceof' the spring substantially approximates the internal diameter of theaforesaid hub, and the projecting end or finger 45 under normaloperative conditions will constitute an effective connection between theratchet wheel and the spring and thereby a connection with the gear 37.The ratchet wheel is prevented from reverse direction by means of a pawl46. Vhen the power shaft is operatedy in excess of the power takentherefrom through the high speed gearing above referred to, or in otherwords, when the ratchet wheel and shaft 35 over-run the gear 37, thespring 45 will be wound up, storing the power which would otherwise beused or wasted; therefore, it is necessary to provide some sort ofautomatic slip mechanism between the ratchet wheel or power shaft andthe gear 37, whereby when the power is exerted in excess of the amountused, no damage to the inael'iinery can result. Accordingly, when theexcess power causes the spring' to be wound until it approximately hugsthe shaft 35, itsl finger At5 will be withdrawn from the lgroove orgrooves within the hub 44, perniittiug the motor or power to runiinlependeutly ot' the gear 37 and machinery beyond the saine. By theuse of means of the character set forth I am enabled to store sutticieutpower in the L-:Ining'l speed shaft even when the motor is iirioperirtive due to the periode of reet incident to the high andlow tides.

The several partev of the motor may ho made of any Suitable materials,and the relative sizes and proportions; thereof may be variouslydesigned to meet the conditions aimed at in the foregoing descriptionwithont departing from the Spirit of the invenV4 tion hereinafterclaimed.

Having thus described my invention, l claim` as new and desire to securehy liettea Patent 1. In a tide motor, the comhination ot a verticallymovable ioat, a pair of master gears having arms extending into copermtion with said float whereby the aacei'it or descent of the lloat'willcause Simultaneous rotation of said gears in opposite directions, andmeans in constant mesh with said gears for transmitting the rotationthereoft1 always in the same direction.

2. In a tide motor, the combination of a float, means to guide the floatlor ascent and descent in accordance with the rise and tall ,of thetide, said float including a yoke, a 'pair of members Join-nailed 'torrotation in rotation of Said rotary members, and means to transmit thepower from said members, Said transmitting means including a shaltdriven always in the lSame direct ion.

3. In a tide moto the combination ol a vertically movable lloatincluding a volte comprising a pair ot channels, a pair of master gearsjournaled :for rotation in parallel planes and having rigid armlextending therefrom into the plane ot' said'yolie. a shoe pivotallyconnected to the lower end oi' each arm andolniratingl in its 'eepectivechannel ot' Said yoke, and means to transmit the power it'rom saidmaster gears when they are operated by the lloat in either direction.

4. ln a tide motor7 the mnnbination ot a verticallymovable floatincluding a yoke comprising a pair of curved channels, a pair of mastergearsl joln'naled tor rotation in parallel planes and having rigid armaIelfitending therefrolii into cooperation with Said cin-ved channels7whereby the effective force ot the float upon the maaier gears willremain Substantially constant throughout the n'iovcmentsl oit' the floatin either direition, and means to tranmit the power troni said-mastergears.

t). lln a tid;x motor7 the combination ol' a pair ofmaster gears mountedYlor rotation in parallel planes. a lloat. to operate Said gears, a pairot' pinional between and in con- Ietant mesh with both ot said gears, apower shall amoriated willi one ot said pinions, a eounterelml'taesociated with the other pinion, means to cause eonatant rotation ofeither olf l aid sbatte trom the other, and a pair ot clutchee`operative between said pinione and the respective Shafts, whereby therotation ol the master gears in either direction will cause both gearsto positively drive one pinion while the other pinion is running idly.

o. ln a tido motor, the combination of a pair ot master gear` journalcdfor rotation in parallel planes, means to operate said gears inaccordance with the rise and fall olf the tide, a pair of pinicnsbetween and in constant. mesh with both of said gears, a pair of shaftson which said pinions are loosely mounted, means to cause simultaneousrotation ot" said shafts in opposite directions, and a pair ot' clutchesbetween said pinions and the emresponding shafts, the clutrheeI being soarranged that either of said pinions may poaitively drive said shafts`trom the genre` while the other pinion is running idly.

7. in a tide motor', a lloat, a power shaft, means to operate said powershaft always in the same direction when the float is either amending ordescending, and means to transmit the. pinver out said `Shaft at ahigher speed, said, transmitting means including gear connections and anautomatically operable slip connection between dillerent members; ofSaid gear connect-ions.

S. ln a tide motor, the combination of a tloat adapted to respond tothe/rise and fall ot lhc title, a `power shaft, meane` between thefloaty and the shaft to cause rotation ot the shaft always in the samedirection when the lloat ia either ascending or descending, and gearconnections l'or tranalnitting the power trom laid shall, said gearconnec-V tion comprising a shall, a member having a hollow hob securedthereto`r a wheel loosely mounted on said Shalt, and a spring surend tosaid wheel and having its other end tilted within Vaaid hollow hub,substantially as set, forth. v ln testimony whereof l have signed mynaine to this speeilcation in the presence of two Subscribing witnesses.

Wl lil'ilAllI BRAUNSDORF. Y l/Vitnessesz (lodo. L. Birma-1n, lnnar D.Romanos.

rounding' laid shaft and connected at oneV

